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(.Nq Mod'el.) I

' J. S; STEPHENSON.

. CONSTRUCTION OF (muons. 7 No. 292,183. I Pa tented Jan.'22. 1884.

- I diatom? UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN S. STEPHENSON, OF ASHBURNHAM,. ONTARIO, CANADA.

'CONSTRUCTION OF CANOES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 292,183, dated January 22, 1884.

Application filed August 13,1883. (No model.)

'[0 all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN S; STEPHENSON, of Ashburnham, in the county of Peterborough, in the Province of Ontario, in the Dominion of Canada, have invented certain new and 'useful Improvements in Canoes; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

My invention has for its object the construction of a canoe or keelless boat out of thin narrow strips of wood, which, when laid longitudinally and fastened to transverse ribs, are, by reason of their thinness and width, not of sufficient stiffnessor strength without mutual support to make the shell or hull of the canoe.

. My invention consists of a canoe built of thin narrow strips of wood matched and tongued and grooved, and the upper strip cut to the angle of and fastened to the gunwale, the remainder or lower strips having their ends cut to and fastened at the stem and stern to cut-water posts, and re-enforced internally by ribs extending from gunwale to gunwale.

noe. Fig. 2 is a cross-section of the same, and Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional detail, in perspective, of a portion of the hull.

A represents the longitudinal sheathing com- 0 posing the shell of the canoe. B are the internal ribs extending from gunwale to gunwale. G are the thwarts, and D and E the stem and stern cut-water posts. 7

The boat or canoe is built Without keel, and 5 is pointed at both ends. The sheeting-strips A are matched and grooved and tongued, and laid on in'the ordinary manner, the ends of Figure 1 is a top View of my improved cathe upper strip being cut to the angle of and to fit the gunwale, while the other ends are cut to fit and fasten to the cut-water posts in the ordinary manner. These longitudinal strips of wood composing the shell of the hull, if laid edgewise together without mutual support, twist and open at the seams; and to give unity thereto I match them together by a 5 tongue-and-groove joint, G, whereby they will not separate when held by transverse ribs B, fastened to the strips by nailsor rivets, and to give strength to the hull these ribs extend from gun waleto gunwale, (marked F, the ends of the ribs fastened thereto through the sheet- 1ng.

As no keel exists, the shell is smooth on the inside and outside, and therefore less liable to injury than if lap-streaked,and, being matched at the seams, will be rigid and tight, whereby the canoe will combine lightness with strength.

0 are thwarts to prevent the hull spreading.

I claim as my invention A ,keelless canoe built of longitudinal matched, tongued, and grooved strips A, the upper strip cut to the angle of and secured to the gunwale, and the lower strips cut and fastened to cut-water posts at stem and stern, and re-enforoed on the inside by transverse ribs 65 B, extending from gunwale to gunwale, substantially as set forth.

Signed at Peterborough this 6th day of August, A. D. 1883.

JOHN S. STEPHENSON. 

